South Africa in massive freight rail drive

South African state transport and logistics company Transnet has announced the details of a R300-billion investment in infrastructure that it says will create over half-a-million new jobs while making its freight rail division the fifth-largest in the world.

Announcing South Africa's new multi-billion rand infrastructure drive in his State of the Nation address in February, President Jacob Zuma highlighted two key goals of the programme: creating new jobs, and making it easier to do business in, and export from, the country.

Briefing journalists on Tuesday, Transnet CEO Brian Molefe said the state company's prime objective was "to invest in building capacity to meet validated market demand that will enable economic growth".

'significant modal shift from road to rail'

South Africa's rail, port and pipelines infrastructure would be significantly upgraded and expanded over the next seven years, resulting in "a significant increase in freight volumes, especially in commodities such as iron ore, coal and manganese," Molefe said, while leading to a "significant modal shift from road to rail".